Dear Friends,
Happy Easter! Jesus has risen from the tomb and we rejoice! May your Lenten fast turn into an Easter feast of abundance.
I do not think I am being a disillusioned old man; however, it seems to me like the longer I do ministry the more the present age seems like the age of the early church. Then, like now, people heard the Good News but continued to go along their merry way ignoring it. Only a few chose to believe while their friends and neighbors thought something was wrong with them for doing so. I know that God never overpowers, never twists arms, never forces us into something that would take away our freedom. Yet how is it possible that some see and choose and others do not?
This division between belief and unbelief is evident with the stories of the resurrection of Jesus. The Gospels assure us that the resurrection was real, not just some change in the consciousness of believers. After the resurrection, Jesus’ tomb was empty, people could touch him, he ate food with them, he was not a ghost. We will hear these gospel accounts over the next few weeks.
But the resurrection didn’t make a big splash. It was not some event that everyone in the world was talking about. After he rose from the dead, Jesus was seen by some, but not by others; Jesus was understood by some, but not by others. For those who understood, it changed their lives. For those who were indifferent, it further hardened their hearts.
Why the difference? What makes some see the resurrection while others do not? What lets some accept the mystery and embrace it, while others are left in indifference or total rejection?
Saints and mystics over the years have been known to say: Love is the eye. When we look at anything through the eyes of love, we see correctly, understand, and accept its mystery. The reverse is also true. When we look at anything through eyes that are jaded, cynical, or bitter, we will not see correctly and will not understand.
We see this in how the Gospel of John describes the events of the resurrection. Jesus has risen, but only the person who is driven by love, Mary Magdalene, goes in search of him. The others remain where they are, locked inside their own fear and despair. But love seeks its beloved and Mary goes out…wanting, at least, to embalm his body. She finds his grave empty and runs back to the disciples, to Peter and the beloved disciple and tells them the tomb is empty. The two run together but the disciple whom Jesus loved outruns Peter and gets to the tomb first, but he doesn’t enter, he waits for Peter to go in first.
Peter enters the empty tomb, sees the linens that had covered the body of Jesus, but does not understand. Then the beloved disciple enters. He sees and understands. Love grasps the mystery. Love is the eye. It is what lets us see and understand the resurrection.
That is why, after the resurrection, some saw Jesus but others did not. Those with the eyes of love saw and understood. I think the same is still true today. Hearts filled with love will see the risen Jesus everywhere they look. May you see and encounter the Risen One today!
Peace,
Fr. Damian